Authors’ Note: Swarn Chatterjee, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics, University of Georgia. Robert B. Nielsen, PhD, is an Assistant Professor, in the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics, University of Georgia. Please address correspondence to Swarn Chatterjee, Department of Housing and Consumer Economics, University of Georgia, 205, Dawson Hall, Athens, GA 30602; e-mail: swarn@uga.edu.

Abstract

This research examined differences in employer-based health insurance coverage among employed native-born Americans and immigrants using cross-sectional and panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey, cohort 1979 (NLSY79). Compared with native-born Americans, immigrants were 10.5% less likely to have employer-based health insurance when controlling for other social and economic characteristics. Income and educational attainment of immigrants along with length of stay were predictors of employer-based coverage. Occupational characteristics such as job tenure, full-time employment, and union membership were positively associated with having employer-based health insurance coverage.